You might think cars are a safe haven, but that’s not always the case as some of the best (and worst) horror films show.

From sinister trucks to ghost-fighting machines and armoured, time travelling cars, vehicles have played a starring role in many classic creepy films over the years.

Some scary movies put their bad guys behind the wheel. Sometimes, the car is the bad guy. And occasionally, the car’s just there to help out.

Menacing movie cars range from hearses to sports cars, classics and even ambulances.

Here’s 10 of the creepiest cars from the movies, according to automotive data firm hpi:

1. Maximum Overdrive (1987). Directed by the master of horror Stephen King (his only directing credit), this features a collection of marauding vehicles including a whole fleet of sinister semi-trailer trucks that go on a murderous rampage.

2. Duel (1971). Directed by a young Steven Spielberg this chase thriller features a 1955 Peterbilt 281 tanker truck driver with a major case of road rage hell-bent on revenge against motorist (Dennis Weaver) down a deserted highway.

4. The Hearse (1980). A woman is menaced by a possessed hearse and its evil driver in this creepy eighties low-budget thriller. The hearse of the title is a terrifying looking 1951 Packard Funeral Coach Henney.

5. Death Proof (2007). Quentin Tarantino’s grindhouse flick sees a serial killer stuntman (Kurt Russell) using his death-proof stunt car to create elaborately staged accidents where he murders young women. The two death-proof cars used in the film are the 1970 Chevy Nova and the 1969 Dodge Charger.

6. Jeepers Creepers (2001). The famous classic car that terrorises two siblings on their way home from spring break is a rusty-looking 1941 Chevrolet Cab Over Engine, with the sinister number plate BEATNGU

7. The Wraith (1986). A gang leader scares people into drag racing their cars until a mystery driver, played by Charlie Sheen, dressed in black body armour turns up in a Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor and members of the gang all start to have mysterious ‘accidents’. The M4S was an actual prototype, of which there are only four in the world. It had a top speed of 194.8mph and a 0 to 60mph time of 4.1 seconds.

8. The Evil Dead (1982). Although the zombies taombies take centre stage in The Evil Dead, the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 features in all three films, making it either the bringer of doom or the unluckiest car ever. It belonged to director Sam Raimi when he was in high school. Eventually, it gets its own body armour, spinning death-blades attached to it, and even travels through time.

9. Ghostbusters (1984). It’s debatable if the blockbuster Ghostbusters is a real horror movie but the iconic ECTO-1, originally a 1959 Cadillac Ambulance, plays a memorable part as the ghost fighting machine we all know and love.

10. Christine (1983). Another Stephen King adaptation this is the ultimate four-wheeled fury. A beautiful but berserk 1958 Plymouth Fury in fact, with a penchant for regeneration and mowing down innocent people all in the name of love for its besotted owner.